Toaster



D. F. HALIFAX.

TOASTER July 24, 1928. 1,678,337

Filed April 21. 1927 2 sheets-sneer 2 0 L INVENTOR ATT RNEY Patented July? 24,1928.

- :DANIEL r. HALIFAX, or Nnwnnx, NEW .innsn TOASTEB.

Application led April 21, V1927. p Serial No. 185,427.

ThisY invention relates to an improvedtoaster, especially for bread and sandwiches which toaster is designed for use where toast is desired fresh and in'a shorttimeas at lunch counters. The invention provides a toaster in which there is a conveying means so that a slice of bread is deposited in one end and ispassed along the faces of opposed heaters and is delivered as a slice of toast'atA the other-end.-

' Afeature of the invention isthe adjustability of at least one of the `heaters so that the heaters are spaced about equally from the top and bottom of a thin slice of bread or can be moved to be about equally 'spaced from the top and bottom faces of a 'sandwich which may be uite thick.

The invention is a so directed to the 'production of a toaster` in which a stack of slices or a loaf of bread sliced, `is vfed forward so that the slices, one lat a time, are deposited-so that the conveying means picks them up and passes them along to betoasted.l

The invention also provides a toaster that does not overheat when placed in a counter casing as the casing is provided with ventilation openings whlch are opened 'when the heat inside the toaster becomes too ,high. This makes it unnecessary to shut oi the electric current from time to'time as Ithe Venting of the casing prevents eXcessheating of the interior. The invention also includes certain details of construction which arel more fully described hereinafter and are finally embodied in the claims.- y y The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the accompanyingk drawing in which Figure l-is a longitudinal section of a toaster embodying my invention. Figure 2 is a section on line 2-2 in Figure 1. Figure -3 isfadetail section of the con'- nection of. ahe'ater.' Figure 4 is a section on line 4--4 in Figure '1. Figure 5 is a detail ofthe feeding means and Figure 6 is a 'detail perspective of the `conve or. Figure 7 is an enlarged-side view offt `e conveyor chain.

Figure 8, is a perspective view ofthe connection shown in Figure 3 but with the-parts' separated. Figure=9 is a perspective view ofthe inside of the toaster with the parts broken away to more fully illustrate the4 various parts.

-terminals 29.

The preferred form of the toaster is that` oa portable casing as its most common use is that of a counter machine and I show the device formed with a sheet metal casing having' the sides 1l and l2 and with the front wall 13 and the rear wall 14.

In' the use of the device .where the toasting is done on order and where rapid d elivery is desirable I have arranged a con` veyor to pass the material to be toasted between heaters. Thedrawing shows a con' veyor 15 in the form Aof a broad belt made of'cross-wires 16 secured at their ends to the side chains 17 -whichy pass over the pulleys 18; and 19, secured on cross-shafts 2O and 2l secured on the side walls of the casing. One of these shafts 21 is provided with a sprocket which is driven by a sprocketchain. 22 from the vmotor 23 which transmits mon form of speed reduction mechanism in the casing 24.

The lower heater 25. is arranged between the reaches ofthe conveyor and is readily removable because small particles falling through will lodge on the heater and it is easily'V withdrawn to clean it. The door 26 can be opened for this purpose. The heater 2 5 s mounted in tracks 27 and when it is slid into place it is electrically 4connected as opposite endsand the resistance wire 32 is passed back and forth around them and conthe power to the sprocketchain by any comnected atY the ends with the two socket ,x'lhe'upper heater 33 is of 'substantially the same constructionexcept that its` ready removal is not-provided for as it is not in a position to` re uire frequent cleaning. The ha-ter`33 is adJus'table and can be raised and lowered throughsuitable mechanism so Ithat it is as far from the upperface of a slice o bread as is the lower heater from the' boti tom face so as to insure equal toasting on vide the same relation of the two heaters to sandwiches which are in some cases rather thick.

The drawing' shows a construction in which the heater 33 has two rods 34 projecting from each side and these slide in slots 35 in plates 36 to keep the heater in place horizontally. The heater descends by gravity but is supported and raised by the bars 37 on which the rods 34 rest. Links 38 are secured to the bar 37 so when the bars 37 on each side are moved longitudinally they also rise or fall according to the direction of horizontal movement. Means such as arms 40 extend to allow the easy manipulation of the bars 37.

To provide a steady supply of slices to the conveyor I arrange a feeding mechanism comprising a screw 41 rotated by suitable means such as a sprocket 42 and gearing 43. The nut 44'is provided with means for disconnecting it Asuch as the spring-pressed tooth 45 which is raised when the handle- 46 is tilted on the plate 47 which is arranged on the nut 44 and is connected thereto by a neck 48 which slides in a slot 49 in the top plate 50. The plate 50 is highly polished, usually plated, and supports a loaf of bread slices as shown at 51. IThe plate 52 is in rear of the loaf and as the nut advances the slices are' successively pushed off the front end 53 of the top plate and fall into the well 54, and as thefront end is directed forward by the plate 55 the slice then falls backward as 'the bottom of the slice hitsthe guide plate v56 and as the plate 56 is highly polished and smooth the slice is drawn by the conveyor on which the end of the slice falls. After the slice is toasted it passes out through the opening 57.

To provide for the toasting of sandwiches I permit their being placed by hand into the casing by hinging the flap 58 at 59 and con.- necting it to the arms 40 so that not only is a proper opening for inserting the sandwiches provided but the arms 40 pull up the links 38 to raise the upper heater to give the sandwich suiicient headroom. To prevent the sandwich from falling when ejected from the machine I provide a plate or tablet 60 which is raised to form a flat shelf when the upper heater is raised asshown in dotted outline in Figure 1. When the slices are being toasted and the upper heater 1s lowered the plate 60 acts as a chute for delivering the `slices on a plate or pan, as the plate' 60 is hinged at 61 and is connected by a side rod 62 to one of the bars 37.

I provide the heaters with afne mesh screen 63 wwhich I find gives a much more even toasting as it distributes the heat evenly over the entire surface of the heater so that the bread is toasted to an equal extent over its entire surface. The adjustable heatare placed so as to close them.. The strips 66 are supported by thermostatic strips 67 so that when it gets too hot in the casing the strips 67 bend and carry the strip 66 back far enough to open the holes 65.

The conveyor is made of thin wires` 16 which are somewhat widely separated and the interference with complete toasting is minimized.

Changes can be made in the shape and assembly of the parts without departmg from the scope of my invention.

I claim 1. A toaster comprising a conveyor, means for operating the conveyor, a feeding means for slices, a connection for operating the feeding means, heating means anking the supporting reach of the conveyor and means for adjusting the heating means for various thicknesses of slices.

2. A toaster comprising a conveyor, a feeding means for slices, means for operating the conveyor and the feeding means, a iap on the front of the toaster, a heater connected to the iap to be raised and lowered thereby, and a second heater opposed to the first heater. 3. A toaster comprising a conveyor, a heater for toasting an article on the conveyor, a Hap on the toaster for regulating the size of the entrance and a connect-ion from the flap to the heater whereby the moving of the flap moves the heater to regulate the size of the passage for the article.

4. A toaster comprising a casing having a conveyor therein, a heater between the reaches of the conveyor, said heater being removable transversely from the casing, a second heater above the conveyor, a track for the travel of said second heater, a bar forl supporting said heater, links for raising and lowering the bar and an arm extending for manual operation and connected to the bar.

5. A toaster comprising a casing having a conveyor therein, a heater between the reaches of the conveyor, said heater being removable transversely from the casing, a second heater above the conveyor, a track for the travel of said second heater, a bar for supporting said heater, links for raising and lowering the bar and a delivery tray connected to the bar to be raised and lowered thereby.

6. A toaster comprising a casing having a conveyor therein, a heater between the reaches of the conveyor, said heater being removable transversely from the casing, a seclos' l ond .heater above tlie conveyor, a track for veyor in the casing, ajheater between the the travel of'said. second heater, a bar for reaches of the conveyor, a transverse track 10 supporting said heater,.links orraising and `for'the heater, a pair of terminals on thelowering the bar-and a feeding means for'v ends of the track, and socket terminals on 5 supplying slicesin succession to the conveyor the heater for receiving the terminals when i 'and means for operating the feeding means the heater is' pressed into position. K.

when the conveyor isin operation. A In testimony whereofI aix my signature.

7. A toaster comprising a casing, a conf DANIEL F. 

